Monday, November 10, 2008

If you have an extra $9 you could do worse than picking these up.

This is a little late, but there were three comics that came out last week that I'd like to bring everyone's attention to because they were good and probably overlooked.

Superman/Supergirl Maelstrom #1

If you have been enjoying recent Supergirl comics as much as I have, then you should definitely check this out. If I had to say when it takes place in continuity, I would say sometime in the last year, before the Death of the New Gods and certainly before New Krypton or a lot of recent Superman events. Supergirl is still heavy into her self-doubt phase, and Superman has decided to help her out with that.

The main premise is that a Apokaliptikan babe named Maelstrom is in love with Darkseid and is hoping to impress him by killing Superman. She goes to Earth, destroys a chunk of Metropolis, and makes Supergirl sad. It's all very well-written (Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray) and beautifully drawn (Phil Noto). It's one of those mini-series that you can easily ignore, but if you are a fan of Supergirl at all, this looks like it's going to be a really high-quality mini-series starring her, and that alone is something to celebrate.

Terra #1

It's been a Palmiotti/Gray-heavy week for me. For the record, Jonah Hex was also awesome this week.

I stopped reading Teen Titans months ago. And I REALLY don't care about the Terror Titans or whatever. I definitely would not have picked this up if it weren't drawn by Amanda Conner, who is fantastic and doesn't draw nearly enough books. So if I have to read a comic about a charcter I don't care about to see her art, I will do it.

But this actually was really enjoyable. The Justice Society, and, in particular, Power Girl played a big role in it, so that was good. Everyone looked really hot, especially Terra. And I love the fun stuff that happens in the background of Conners' art, and her facial expressions.

X-Men/Spider-Man #1

This comic was BEAUTIFUL. Mario Alberti throws down some gorgeous art for this story which is set in the sixties. The comic tells a story of one of the first meetings between the original X-Men and Spider-Man. Christos Gage provides fun dialog and lots of humour. AND...Kraven the Hunter is the main villain!

My understanding is that this 4-part series will move out of the sixties and tell a story that spans the last several decades. I think this is going to be a great mini-series.

Really loved the X-men/Spiderman book. As a fan of the X-men I also liked the fact that they're trying to make this book matter a bit (by working in long term continuity into the end).

As for the Supergirl mini - I'm undecided. Not really knowing where they're really going with the story may be part of the problem, but it just seemed sort of sudden and incomplete.

Some of that may be due to Supergirl being the only Super-book I read (maybe the stuff makes more sense in context). Also it seems like the story's concept is more in line with the current supergirl arcs (Kara actually learning how to be "Super" rather than being forced into it) then the arcs from a year ago (when she was fighting to end death).

David - My go-to book for getting girls into comics (assuming that they are girls who are into, like, strong female characters) is Batgirl: Year One. I think it's a perfect book. And I don't know anyone who didn't love it, whether they regularly read comics or not.

Other titles that I recommend to women (and men!) who are trying to get into superhero comics are:

RunawaysCatwoman - The Dark End of the StreetAll Star SupermanBatman: The Long Halloween (I don't love it, really, but it's a good starter book)Batman and the Monster Men/Batman and the Mad MonkBatman: Year OneShazam! Monster Society of EvilInvincibleSpider-Man Loves Mary-Jane (the first series)

And if you want to try books that aren't super hero related, I usually go with Y: The Last Man, Bone, Ex Machina, and, depending on the person, Walking Dead. I've pretty much never failed with any of those recommendations.